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Boy, 6, wakes to find snake biting his leg before fighting it off to save brother

When Ben Gorman woke up early Monday morning to something attached to his leg, he didn’t scream or run away, he decided to grab the culprit and fight it off.

“I didn’t scream, I was so brave,” the six-year-old Darwin boy told NT News.

Ben knew it was up to him to save his younger brother that he shares a room with, so he thought the best thing to do was to get rid of it.

An image of six-year-old Ben Gorman
"I threw it at the mirror in our bedroom,” Ben said. Source: Sunrise/NT News

“I was holding on to it so tight, I think I figured out if it was venomous and I threw it at the mirror in our bedroom,” Ben said proudly.

Ben’s mother, Micha, said she had seen what she thought was a sock in her bed earlier in the evening and when Ben woke her at 4am, he confirmed her worst fears - a more than metre long snake.

“He gently woke me up and said ‘mum I’ve been bitten by a snake but it’s ok, I’ve thrown it against the wall, you better go get Lachy,’” Ms Gorman said.

Ben points to the two snake bites on his leg.
Ben shows the aftermath of the snake - two bites to his leg, luckily the snake wasn't venomous. Sunrise/NT News

When Micha went to her son’s room she got a bit of a shock and spotted part of the intruder

“All I could see was a black tail slithering over the top of their toy box,” the mother told Sunrise.

After calling triple-0, a snake catcher removed the biting bandit from the boy’s room and identified the snake as a slaty-grey.

Mum Micha, little brother, Lachy and Ben on Sunrise
Mum Micha (left), little brother Lachy (middle) and the snake catcher Ben (right) tell Sunrise about the brave snake catching moment. Source: Sunrise

Snake catcher Colin Shoemark told Yahoo News that although slaty-grey snakes aren’t venomous, there is still an element of danger.

The snakes can “bite aggressively if handled,” he said explaining the bites on Ben’s leg.

Ben learned that the hard way and was treated in hospital for two snake bites for his rescue mission.

“A non venomous a bite can result in complications with infection, as can a bite from any non venomous reptile,” Mr Shoemark said.

A slaty-grey snake being held by a snake catcher.
A slaty-grey snake, like the one that bit Ben. Source: NT News

Thankfully Ben is back to playing with his brother and is sure to keep an eye out for any more slithering intruders hogging his bed.

Mr Shoemark said the Gorman family were lucky the but warned others who find themselves face to face with a snake to “call an expert.”

“Never think you are Steve Irwin or an expert on the subject matter. As many of Australia’s venomous and deadly snakes look similar as non venomous reptiles,” he told Yahoo.

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